Zipmex to facilitate first South-east Asian luxury condo purchase with cryptocurrency

SINGAPORE-HEADQUARTERED digital exchange Zipmex will be facilitating the first South-east Asian luxury property purchase with cryptocurrency.

Zipmex said on Wednesday it has partnered Thailand's One.Six Development, the company behind the ultra-luxury condominium The Strand, to facilitate cryptocurrency payments on Zipmex's platform.

"With the addition of One.Six to our ZipSpend network, we are redefining the real-estate purchasing experience. Bank transfers of this size can sometimes take days to clear. Crypto payments, regardless of size, take seconds to complete and are confirmed in minutes," said Zipmex chief executive officer Marcus Lim.

Zipmex has also facilitated Asia's first Lamborghini and Tesla purchases using bitcoin. ZipSpend, the company's payment network, also allows fine art lovers to purchase artwork with cryptocurrency.

The platform has transacted over US$1 billion in gross transaction volume since its launch in late-2019.

Chawin Athakravisunthorn, managing director of One.Six Development, said: "My prior career overseeing all aspects of JPMorgan's investment banking business made me realise that we need to capture the rising tides of cryptocurrency adoption. We are excited to enter this partnership with Zipmex - accepting cryptocurrency is just the start. We are already making plans to launch NFTs on their new platform as well as exploring a real estate-backed token (ICO) for our future projects targeting investors throughout Asia-Pacific."